A network router, also known as a bandwidth sharing device and hereinafter also referred to as a router for short, is a network connection device located at the junction of two or more networks and configured to connect at least two networks. A router provides routing by forwarding data packets to their destinations through the networks it connects. With the prevalence of broadband Internet access, more and more people have routers installed in their homes or offices, with at least one network terminal device (e.g., a personal computer) connected to each router. A network terminal device connected to a router can connect to the Internet through the router in order to access resources in the Internet or use Internet services offered by Internet service providers. In addition to wired routers, wireless routers are now commercially available so that a user may connect such network devices as network printers and webcams to a wireless router using Wi-Fi or other wireless technologies, thereby establishing a local area network in which the user can access the network printers, webcams, and like network devices through a network terminal device.
Each time a user wishes to install a new network device and add it to an existing local area network, the user must connect the network device to the network router either by a physical network cable or wirelessly and, following the user manual of the network device, manually configure the network device to be added to the local area network. For example, the user is required to input a variety of parameters including a Service Set identifier (SSID) and a device password. During the configuration process, the user must input the parameters correctly in order for the network device to function properly.
However, based on years of practical experience in the network technology-related fields and after long-term research and observation, the inventor of the present invention has found that it is by no means easy for an ordinary user to correctly configure a new network device in a local area network and enable a network terminal device in the local area network to access this new network device. Most people would have problem configuring a network device and are often faced with unexpected difficulties resulting from a lack of professional knowledge in network configuration. Despite that a network device can function properly only if the required parameters are correctly input, one who is unfamiliar with the way of configuration is very likely to input the parameters wrongly. Should that happen, not only will the wrong configuration prevent the network device from proper operation, but also the user's time will have been wasted.
Therefore, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to solve the various problems facing one who wishes to add a network device to a local area network. It is desirable that a pre-configured network device can be used to configure a subsequently added network device, thereby simplifying and speeding up the installation of this network device, reducing the time required for configuration, and preventing any erroneous configuration.